


Right In Plain Sight

by Alonasin



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Ballroom Dancing, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Court Sorcerer Merlin (Merlin), F/F, Gen, Identity Reveal, Irony, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Secret Identity, This whole fic is the definition of irony, like I hate myself for how ironic I made this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:27:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23906908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alonasin/pseuds/Alonasin
Summary: Part 1|Merlin & Arthur|Merlin finds himself enamored by a mysterious masked that reminds him a little too much of Arthur during a masquerade ball. Somehow the two of them go from dancing to venting about the people they're in love with. Merlin is more than happy to finally be able to talk about how head over heels for Arthur he is to a stranger (Who is totally not Arthur, right?).--Part 2|Morgana & Gwen|Morgana told herself that she was only going to the masquerade ball to check up on Gwen from a distance then she would leave. So how did Morgana end spending the rest of the ball with her? And would she be able to get through the night without Gwen finding out who Morgana really was behind the mask?
Relationships: Gwen & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Gwen/Morgana (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 58





	Right In Plain Sight

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea for a masquerade ball fic in my head where character A talks about their feelings for character B to someone they think is a stranger without knowing that the stranger is actually Character B. It's a corny and cliche idea I know but I still wanted to write it regardless lol. But I didn't know if I wanted to write it with merthur or morgwen so I just chose to do a version of the idea with both: Chapter 1 with merthur and chapter 2 (when i write it) with morgwen. You don't necessarily need to read both chapters if you want to only read about one pairing but there might be unsolved plot details if you don't read both? You won't miss anything too major though.
> 
> P.S. I've only watched s1 and this takes place while Arthur is king but before Morgana is dead and stuff so some details might be a little inaccurate to canon minus the whole Merlin being court sorcerer part. But it should be close to canon for the most part.

Arthur knew that being a king would always be hard work and would probably make him grey by the time he was thirty but, he didn’t think he could’ve ever been prepared for just how much work the job truly was. So when the king had received an invitation to attend a masquerade ball in a kingdom he was attempting to negotiate a peace treaty with at that time, he found himself almost ecstatic at what he believed was a chance at a break from his duties even if it was only for a couple of days with Merlin, Gwen, and the rest of his few close friends. What he did not expect though, was the not so subtle attempt at pushing the kingdom’s princess towards him when the two had met during the masquerade ball a month later. Arthur immediately regretted his choice of walking up to the princess, who was conversing with her parents by a food table, and lifting up his mask for a second to let them know who he was before letting it down again. Because the minute he did, they had about three lines of small talk before they brought up the apparent ‘coincidence’ that both her and Arthur were single at the moment. It would’ve been so easy for Arthur to walk past them unnoticed since his identity was mostly unrecognizable under the mask he wore that covered almost the entirety of his face up to his mouth. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with the woman, far from it in actuality. The princess was very attractive, her facial features still very much visible under the thin green mask that only made circles around her eyes. She had a warm personality and a bubbly laugh to match it. Another positive was that she was one of the few nobles Arthur had met during his time as king that did not make him want to slam his head into the nearest wall. Maybe Arthur would’ve considered the princess if it weren’t for the fact that his heart was already stolen by a certain court sorcerer of his years ago.

“Our daughter is looking for a fair and righteous man. One who will treat her and the kingdom well. Though it wouldn’t hurt if he was mighty handsome, too,” the queen was explaining to Arthur, winking while she said the last sentence. Arthur shifted uncomfortably at the expression while nodding his head, eyes darting around to find some sort of exit from the situation. At that point, Arthur found himself thinking that it would probably be better if they just outright said they wanted to set their daughter up with Arthur rather than just obviously hinting at it.

Almost as if reading Arthur’s mind, the kingdom’s king spoke, “What my wife is trying to say is that we think our daughter and you would make a great match.”

“O- oh,” Arthur nervously said, racking up his brain for an excuse. He continued to look around the ballroom as he continued.

“I appreciate the sentiment, however…” Arthur’s eyes finally landed on a man about to refill his glass, not far away from them. “However, I already have someone, sadly.” Arthur faked a sad smile as he took a few steps towards the man before snaking his arm around him and pulling him to his side.

“What the-” The man squeaked out in surprise, swiftly placing his cup on the table.

“Please just play along,” Arthur desperately whispered in the man’s ear before speaking to the royal family again. “As you can see, we’re not the most conventional pair but my heart belongs to him all the same.” The king nodded in understanding before smiling and waving his hand.

“Ah, please don’t let us disturb you then. Go, go. Have some fun and dance.”

“That we will do,” Arthur gave a smile before heading off to where people were dancing, dragging the man with him. “I am so sorry,” Arthur immediately apologized once they were out of earshot. “I just didn’t know what else to do.”

“Yeah, I could tell,” the man replied, his deep and silky smooth voice reminding Arthur of whenever a magic user masked their voice with a spell as he put his arms on Arthur’s shoulders. If Arthur had to take a guess, he’d assume that the man in front of him was more likely than not a sorcerer. Not that he minded, though. He knew his fair share of sorcerers in Camelot especially after he made Merlin the court sorcerer and legalized magic a couple of years ago. He also knew that it was a fairly common custom for sorcerers to cast a spell to mask their voices during masquerade balls and similar events, including the masquerade ball Arthur had thrown a little after he legalized magic. For a matter of fact, Merlin had cast a spell to mask Arthur’s voice for this ball for some unknown reason, though the man had left before Arthur could check if it had worked. It had been a weird sequence of events when Merlin had set the spell, actually. Merlin had just walked into the guest chambers Arthur was staying in, gave a hurried explanation that Arthur couldn’t remember at all before casting the spell, then left as fast as he walked in, not to be seen by Arthur for the rest of the day. He hoped Merlin was ok, he had looked worried earlier.

“We’ll probably only have to dance for a small amount of time before they turn their attention elsewhere,” Arthur spoke as he drove himself out of his own thoughts. He placed his hands on the man’s waist before the two of them started to sway to the soft music being played by the orchestra. Arthur took a glance in the royal family’s direction; They were still looking at him and the man. Arthur let out a sigh as the two of them swayed to the music. They would probably have to keep this charade up for a bit of time.

“I’m that bad of a dance partner?” Arthur snapped his gaze back to the man at the sound of his voice.

“What? No! No, not at all!” Arthur scampered for words, not wanting to displease someone he just met. Though he didn’t know why it would matter. It wasn’t like they knew who the other was since neither of them were wearing a particularly revealing mask. Covering about the same surface area of his face as Arthur’s own golden colored mask, the man’s mask was a dark emerald color that complimented his golden eyes which Arthur could only assume was the result of magic. Arthur had to admit that the masks were very grand compared to the ones everyone had worn in Camelot; He had yet to see one that came anywhere near disappointing him. He wondered what mask Merlin was wearing and how it looked on the younger man’s face. Arthur was still disappointed that he couldn’t see what his friend was wearing for the ball that night, though Arthur knew for a fact that Merlin looked marvelous wherever he was at the moment. For all he knew, Merlin could be the man he was dancing with in that very moment. Arthur almost let out a laugh at that thought. Him dancing with Merlin? Yeah, right. Out of all people, what would be the chances of him pulling Merlin aside to dance? As much as he wished to be able to dance with Merlin, it wouldn’t happen.

“I’m kidding, lighten up,” the man smiled as he let out a little laugh, that reminded Arthur a little too much of Merlin for his liking. “It’s a ball, you should be having fun!” Arthur gave a polite smile in response as they continued to spin around on the floor.

“Hmm, did something happen?” The man continued on, a frown starting to make its way onto his lips as he thought before his eye lightened up in realization. “Issues in love? A rejected date, perhaps?” Arthur’s lips turned downwards as he looked down at their feet. For only knowing Arthur for a few minutes, this man was already closer to figuring Arthur out than most people.

“Something like that, not quite though. It doesn’t matter,” Arthur politely dismissed as he planted a fake smile on his face again. The man squinted his eyes in disbelief.

“I’m pretty sure it does matter but I won’t bug you about it since we really don’t know each other,” he replied before mumbling to who Arthur could only assume was himself, “Though I do wonder what it has to do with pretending I’m your date to the royal family.” After that, the two continued to dance with the only sounds being from the orchestra and the conversations of people around them until Arthur turned his gaze back to where the royal family was standing before seeing they were long gone now.

“Ah, looks like they’re gone,” Arthur said as he turned back to look at the man. The two of them stopped dancing and turned to go their separate ways. Arthur had already taken a few steps away before he heard the man speak. “Good luck with whoever they are. I’m sure they’d be lucky to have you.” Arthur turned around and flashed a smile at the man before continuing to walk away. Even if the rest of the night ends up not turning out well, Arthur would be fully content with his dance with the mysterious masked man, even if it was short lived.

\----

Gwen looked happy under the thin red mask she was wearing, was the first thing Arthur thought to himself as he saw the woman filling up two glasses at a beverage table. “Gwen,” he said as he walked up to her. She turned her head and her eyebrows drew in confusion.

“I’m sorry but do I know you? You’ll have to excuse my mistake since you know, we all have masks on,” Gwen said with a little laugh as she continued on looking at Arthur in confusion.  
Arthur lifted up his mask for a moment before letting it down as Gwen’s face morphed into recognisitian.

“Oh, Arthur! Merlin must’ve spelled your voice,” Gwen spoke this time with familiarity in her voice. Arthur nodded.

“So I couldn’t help but notice, you look very happy,” Arthur pointed out as he grabbed a plate of cake from the table before starting to eat the dessert. Gwen looked away from the king as a light blush made its way on to her cheeks. 

“Happy, yes I guess you could say that,” Gwen replied, shifting in embarrassment. Arthur had seen that look Gwen’s face numerous times over the years he had known her for. What felt like a lifetime ago, those looks had once been reserved for Morgana. Reserved for when Arthur had once bumped into Gwen picking flowers in the forest, blood flushing up to her face as she explained that she knew Morgana was having an influx of nightmares and wanted to cheer her up with flowers. Or what was more recent but still felt like ages ago, when the blush covered Gwen’s face as Lancelot kissed her hand and murmured beautiful phrases to her that only the pair could hear. Or of course what was even more recent and had only happened a few years ago, when the blush shone on Gwen’s face as Arthur and her danced together in her home, the only music they needed being their laughter. But that was in another time. A time before the first person Gwen had been in love with betrayed her in a way no other could and left her in the dark. A time before her second love had died not once but twice. A time before a love she had thought she would one day marry banished her instead. Arthur was just thankful that he and Gwen had learned to be close again once he allowed her back into Camelot, the love between them going from romantic back to the love two close friends shared that they had before betrayals ransacked Camelot.

“Hmm, perhaps someone has caught your eye?” Arthur suggested knowingly while he smirked. Gwen looked back at Arthur, her eyes glaring which just confirmed Arthur’s words. “I’ll take that as a yes,” Arthur continued as laughter rang through his voice.

“Ok so yes, maybe someone has caught my interest but that’s besides the point. Don’t act like you weren’t dancing with that mysterious, handsome stranger just minutes ago,” she retorted causing Arthur to choke for a second on the piece of cake he was eating then.

“You saw that?” He managed to let out in surprise after a coughing fit. Gwen looked a little too proud of herself for Arthur’s liking as she nodded her head.

“Wait handsome? Guinevere, he had a mask covering his entire face. He could be the most ugly man in here for all we know,” Arthur added on causing Gwen to gasp in astonishment.

“Arthur! Don’t say that!” She exclaimed before lowering her voice back down to normal level. “Besides, you could just tell that he’s handsome. It’s in the way he walks. I’m telling you if you just go back out there and woo the man, you could probably get him to take his mask off. Then you’ll see that I was right.” Arthur was thankful that he wasn’t currently chewing a piece of cake at that moment or else he would’ve been sent into another coughing fit.  
“Woo? Guinevere no! No no no! It is not like that at all! I don’t even know the man!” Arthur stammered. Though Arthur didn’t find himself wanting to “woo” the man as far as he knew, he did find himself intrigued and wishing he hadn’t ended the dance so soon or conversed with him for a little longer.

“Sure, Arthur,” Gwen responded, not believing Arthur one bit before continuing on. “I know you have your heart set on Merlin, and as many times as I have told you he definitely shares your feelings, you don’t believe me one bit. It seems you don’t notice or won’t acknowledge that I am the middle party for you two and know what the other person is most likely feeling. So if you don’t want to go ahead and take a chance with Merlin tonight, you might as well enjoy your time with a man who’s left you with a smile on your face for the night.” Arthur’s face immediately dropped. He knew there was some truth in Gwen’s statement but he just couldn’t believe someone like Merlin would harbor such feelings for a man like Arthur. He was still shocked that Merlin stayed in Camelot and agreed to be court sorcerer after revealing his magic to Arthur and magic was legalized. Merlin could be anywhere else in the world. He could be among the druids, taking his rightful place as Emerys their leader. He could be at Morgana’s side, attempting to overthrow Arthur with magic. He was powerful enough to steal the throne for himself without Morgana’s help, for crying out loud! Yet for some reason, Merlin had stayed by Arthur’s side out of all places, his loyalty strong as ever. And Arthur would be forever thankful for that, glad to have the man he most trusted and loved close to him for so long. But Arthur knew that he would never be a good enough man for Merlin, no matter how much he had tried to do right as king. Arthur opened his mouth to tell Gwen a condensed version of that before he got cut off by the woman.

“Oh! Sorry to cut this conversation short, Arthur, but…” Gwen began before trailing off and motioning with one of her hands to a woman not too far away from them with a dark mask covering most of her face, waving Gwen over. Oh. That must’ve been who had caught Gwen’s eye.

“Don’t let me hold you back. Go! Go!” Arthur’s expression perked up again as he shooed his friend away. Gwen gave off a grateful smile as she picked up the filled cups she had placed down on the table at the beginning of their conversation before hurrying over to the woman. As the two of them began to talk and walk away, Arthur could only find himself thinking that the woman Gwen was hanging seemed fairly familiar. Arthur shrugged to himself as he brushed the thought off. He probably just saw her around the castle or something during one of the previous days he had been here.

\----

Merlin didn’t like hiding things from Arthur. He had already spent enough time doing that when his magic was a secret. So when Merlin had seen Morgana walking around the town earlier that day and decided not to tell Arthur what he saw, he couldn't help but feel the small bubble of guilt that made its way into the pit of his stomach. It would only be for the remainder of the trip, he told himself. He had seen how joyful Arthur looked when they arrived in the kingdom, happy to be relieved from the majority of his stress and kingly duties for a few days. Merlin didn’t want to take that happiness away from his friend. It was worth more to Merlin to see a genuine smile on Arthur’s face and have him be upset with him for a little for hiding things rather than ruining the pure joy Arthur was experiencing for the first time in a while. Though Merlin didn’t have the same luxury that day, sadly. Once he had seen Morgana, he ran to catch up to her but after she turned a busy corner she was just gone. Merlin couldn’t stop himself for stressing out the majority of the day, hurriedly going into Arthur’s room at one point before either of them was anywhere near ready for the ball later that night, casting a spell to disguise Arthur’s voice in case he happened to come in contact with Morgana later. Merlin had given some nonsense reason about Arthur showing respect for magic or something that Merlin spewed out as he quickly left Arthur’s guest room, hoping to catch Morgana. Merlin had somehow managed to calm down and tell himself that he probably just imagined the sorceress’s face by the time he was dressed and ready for the ball that night. 

It was no use to worry about, anyways, he told himself as he caught up to Gwen on her way to the ballroom. Morgana hadn’t done anything yet. And regardless, he was about to enter a room with everyone wearing masks, he’d never find Morgana if she was even there. The night would just be uneventful for Merlin, most likely. Or at least he believed so before strong arms pulled him away from the spot he was standing at later in the ballroom after splitting up from Gwen.

“What the-” was all he managed to say before he was at a man’s side in front of the kingdom’s royal family, the man’s voice quietly pleading for him to play along. So much for an uneventful night. Merlin breathed out a happy sigh as he walked out onto one of the ballroom’s balconies on the second floor after finishing his dance with the man, relieved to finally be able to get time to himself. It wasn’t that Merlin didn’t like dances or other events along those lines; He actually enjoyed them now that he was court sorcerer and wasn’t required to fill Arthur’s wine glass every two minutes. Well, he enjoyed them when he was spending time with his friends which were nowhere to be seen. Gwen and him had split off minutes after entering the ballroom and Merlin hadn’t seen Arthur yet at all that night. Though Merlin doubted that he would end up seeing Arthur that night. He remembered his conversation with Arthur a few days before when the king had begun to talk about his plans of wearing a more covering mask in hopes he wouldn’t be stopped every two minutes by someone wanting to flatter foreign royalty. With the combination of an unrecognizable face and unrecognizable voice, Merlin would never find him! Merlin let his face fall into a frustrated frown, looking towards one of the separate balconies to his right that connected to a farther end of the ballroom. Merlin had been really looking forward to finally asking Arthur to dance since he had chickened out when they had their last ball in Camelot. 

A grumble of his stomach was what shifted Merlin out of his thoughts and got him to make his way back inside. Maybe he wouldn’t see Arthur but at least there was food to make up his night. And he had heard that the cake was supposed to be incredibly delicious too! Merlin closed his eyes while he continued his path to the food table, imagining just how good that soft fluff would taste in his mouth. His mouth was already watering at the suspense of eating the dessert, the smell of it traveling through the air to his nose. It was only so much farth- “Uumph,” a pained voice filled Merlin’s ears as he felt a wall hit his head. No not a wall, Merlin realized as he opened his eyes and took a step back, seeing the fabric of a red tunic. Just a very well built chest. Merlin looked slightly up, a familiar golden mask in his sight and a warm feeling building its way into his chest that reminded him way too much of the one he got when he was around Arthur. Merlin pushed the warm feeling into the back of his mind. He was not going to deal with that. It was already infuriating enough to be head over heels for Arthur, he did not need to find himself falling for a man who the only information he had about him was that he was in such a bad situation with the royal family he needed a fake date and was hopelessly pining over someone else. Nope, Merlin was not going to get involved with that situation anymore than he had too. No way. Definitely not.

“Wow what a surprise to see you again! It’s been so long!” Merlin joked, getting a laugh in response that most definitely did not send butterflies to Merlin’s stomach, before sheepishly giving an apology. “Sorry, I guess I was just a little too excited about getting a taste of that cake.”

The man gave another one of his warm laughs as he looked towards his own cake on a plant in his hand before responding, “No worries. The cake is worth all of the excitement. Though…” The man’s voice stopped for a second as he looked over to the food table behind him. “I don’t believe there’s any left,” he finished with a frown on his face as he looked towards Merlin, causing the sorcerer’s face to drop in disappointment.

“What? No! How could it be gone so fast?” Merlin whined in anguish.

“A fast seller I guess?” The man offered with a shrug. Merlin sucked in a disappointed breath, sulking over to the food table in hopes of finding something that could compare to the cake he had been so excited to eat.

“Wait!” The man called out, causing Merlin to turn around. “Here,” he continued as he walked up to Merlin and gave him the plate with half a cake. “If you don’t mind that I ate half of it, of course,” he added on hastily. Merlin took a glance at the cake, then the masked face, then back at the cake again before breaking out into a big smile and taking the plate.

“Thank you so much!” Merlin happily exclaimed as he then proceeded to gobble up the cake. He was mighty glad in that moment for the first time that night that Arthur wasn’t with him. Merlin knew Arthur would just ridicule Merlin for eating so sloppily in front of a citizen from another kingdom, even though Arthur was no better with his food. He could already hear the king’s voice in his head reprimanding him, ‘Merlin! It's been two years since you’ve become court sorcerer and therefore a noble. You must’ve learned at least a little bit of manners by now.’

“Ah, but there’s a price for the cake,” the man spoke with a bit of hesitancy in his voice. Merlin looked up with a question in his eyes but unable to voice it since his mouth was filled with cake. Merlin elected to instead raise a questioning eyebrow like he watched Gauis do one too many times, hoping his mask didn’t cover it. The man must’ve gotten the message because he continued to speak.

“A dance. I’d like to continue that dance we had,” the man spoke, feigning confidence by straightening his shoulders in a way he had seen Arthur do many times before. Merlin felt his cheeks warming as he swallowed the piece of cake in his mouth.

“Ok, yeah, sure,” he gave a smile, trying not to sound as excited as he did. The masked man returned a smile which seemed so Arthur-like, sending the warmth straight back to Merlin’s chest. Merlin stuffed another piece of cake into his mouth before he could say anything stupid or make another stupid expression. Merlin needed to get a handle on his emotions. It was not normal to be falling for someone that fast no matter how much they reminded Merlin of Arthur. It would just end in heartbreak when the night ended and Merlin woke up back to a world where there was no strong masked man to swoon over and he still had an unrequited love for his king.

\----

Merlin found that he was quite bad at handling his emotions the second the pair had returned to the dance floor. Almost immediately Merlin had placed his hands right back on the man’s shoulders and the man’s on Merlin’s waist in return, causing the butterflies to flutter more in Merlin’s stomach. The two of them silently swayed to the music for some time before Merlin spoke up.

“You seem good at this. You come to events like this a lot?” The man was fairly skilled at ballroom dancing, Merlin noticed as he was smoothly whisked around the dance floor. Skilled to a level that mostly only a noble would be at it due how much they had fancy nights like these. 

“Yes, quite a bit. You’d be surprised at how much I’m required to be at things like this,” The man answered with a laugh. “Though I never tire of them as of recently. After… a change in my family and who hosts events like these, they’ve gotten much more enjoyable.”

“Your family hosts events like these? You must all be very high up nobles then,” Merlin responded in surprise. Merlin knew that the man in front of him was most likely a noble or close to the royal family due to the fact that he was a guest for such a fancy event but he didn’t think the man would be that high up in the kingdom. Back in Camelot, the only people who he knew to host balls and feasts were Uther, Arthur, and maybe a few nobles that had too much money than was good for them. Who was this man he was dancing with? 

“Or maybe even a part of the royal family. It’s not like I’d be able to know,” Merlin added on as a joke while he gave a short wink. The man in front of him flashed a smile back but Merlin could see the way the man tensed and almost stumbled over his feet. Did Merlin say something wrong?

“How about you? You’re not bad at dancing yourself,” The man responded as he pulled Merlin into a perfect spin, proving his observation.

“Ah, I’ve been to more of these events than I can count,” Merlin answered before pausing to think. He couldn’t just outright say that the reason why was because his best friend was the king of Camelot, that would just give his identity away in a flash. What was the point of a masquerade ball if you let people know who you were?

“My friend gets invited to a lot of dances and feasts and he always drags me along,” Merlin decided on, thinking about Arthur as he rolled his eyes. It wasn’t exactly a lie, just not very accurate for the more recent years of Merlin’s time in Camelot. Sure Merlin was required to go wherever Arthur was meant to be back when he was his manservant but now he went because it was almost always required as his role as court sorcerer. But still, he was in a sense still getting dragged to events like these thanks to Arthur.

Merlin wondered if Arthur was having as much fun as Merlin was having right then. Was he somewhere dancing too? Maybe he found a beautiful woman or man to dance with? Merlin felt himself frown at that last thought. He knew that he had no right to feel jealous over a man that was in no way his but Merlin couldn’t help it. He wanted to be the one that made Arthur smile that night. The one that Arthur twirled around as their emotions drowned in joy and love. The one that-

“Let’s go outside,” the man offered with a concerned smile, interrupting Merlin from his thoughts. “You look like you may need a break.” Merlin was about to deny the fact that he needed a break, wanting to keep dancing with the man, but decided against it when he realized just how peaceful a moment out on the balcony sounded. Merlin nodded, a strong hand pulling him in the direction of the balcony he was on alone earlier that night.

\----

The night was gorgeous, Arthur found himself thinking as he looked over the balcony he was standing on. He wondered if the pair of people on the balcony to their right thought that too or if anyone else who walked out onto the balcony earlier that night thought that. Merlin would probably like the view he was looking at right now, if he were here. Arthur looked to his left where the masked man was leaning his arms on the balcony, looking in awe at the night sky above them. He seemed to have calmed down a bit since Arthur had caught the downturn on his lips while the two of them had been dancing. Though Arthur could only see the very top and bottom of the man’s face, he could assume that something had knocked down his mood a few notches based on his expression. Arthur knew that for himself, based on past times when he had got upset at losing a tournament or messing up in a battle, escaping to a quiet peaceful place away from people helped to lighten up his move. Merlin had taught him that. And he wished that Merlin was here right now to help him raise this man’s mood up. Sure, Arthur knew how to be polite with strangers and hide how much of a ‘royal prat’, as Merlin would say, he was but he didn’t have a comforting way with words like Merlin did when people found themselves in the dark pits of their minds.

“The sky tonight is beautiful,” Arthur decided on saying. Apparently it was the right thing to say because the man turned his head and flashed a soft smile at Arthur that made his heart start to race, not for the first time that night since he had started hanging around the man. On second thought, maybe it was a good thing Merlin wasn’t there. It was already enough to deal with always feeling like he was a second away from a heart attack around the court sorcerer, he didn’t actually need to drop dead on the ground from being near two people who made his heart go mad. Though it was weird, he hadn’t even known the man for a day but he already had grown an attachment to him. Sure it was nowhere near what felt towards Merlin, nothing he felt towards anyone else could compare even slightly to how much he loved Merlin, but it was still intense. It was going to be hell the next day when Arthur was only left with a few memories of a sorcerer with beautiful golden eyes.

“Sorry for ruining our dance,” the man apologized as he looked over to Arthur. “I know you were having fun. I was too but I just remembered something and…” his voice trailed off. Arthur understood. It was true that Arthur was enjoying dancing with the man a lot but his thoughts had strayed elsewhere a few times also. Thoughts somewhat along the line of wishing could be dancing with Merlin.

“If I’m to be truthful, my thoughts weren’t all there too,” Arthur admitted. “I was thinking about someone I know. The person I’m having ‘issues in love’ with, as you had said before.” Arthur waited for the man to get mad at him for sending him romantically coded messages when another person was in Arthur’s mind but it never came. The man just nodded in agreement before speaking.

“You too? Remember that person who I mentioned always dragging me to parties? I came here tonight for him, also. I was hoping to see him at least once but no.” The man frowned as he looked down. Arthur started laughing. The man’s head snapped back up and Arthur thought he could almost see the look of offense under his green mask.

“No, no! I’m not laughing at you!” He hurriedly said. “I’m laughing at the situation. We were both dancing with each other and I’m assuming we both have the same attraction to the other but we were just thinking of someone else the whole time.” Arthur watched as the man’s mouth morphed back into a smile before he broke out into a fit of laughter, Arthur following suit.

“You’re a lot like him, actually,” the man said once their laughter started to die down.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. He’s really polite to strangers but once you get to know him you realize just how much of a prat he actually is.” Arthur let out an offended gasp.

“Are you saying I’m a prat?”

“I’m just saying if you’re any more like him then yes, you’re most likely a prat,” the man said as a smirk climbed its way onto his face. Arthur stood there baffled for a moment before he broke out in laughter for the second time that night.

“Honestly, you’re not the first person to call me that,” Arthur finally managed to get out after a fit of laughter as he wiped a tear from his eye. “He, the one I’m in love with, calls me that more often than he says my actual name, I think.”

“Hmm, he must be a smart man then.”

“He really is, actually. I’d never tell him that, though,” Arthur said, a bit more serious. The man’s eyebrows scrunched up.

“What? Why not?” The man asked, confusion evident in his voice. Arthur gave a shrug in response.

“It’d let him know I care. Care too much. If I tell him one thing that’s great about him, I’ll just end up saying everything I find amazing about him.”

“What’s so bad about that? Wouldn’t you rather him know how great he is than putting him down so much,” The man argued, frustration started to grow in his voice. Arthur gave him a bewildered look that he was sure the man couldn’t see under his mask. Why was the man so upset with how Arthur was treating someone he never even met?

Almost as if he read Arthur’s mind, he spoke again, his voice more calm, “Sorry, it’s just I know what it’s like being on the other end. I know that he cares about me and I’m his closest friend but still. I know he could never see me the way I see him but it’d be nice for him to acknowledge my efforts a little more. To just show how much our friendship really means to him.”

“Maybe he’s scared. If he’s so much like me, maybe he’s scared of letting his walls down. He has someone that he cares about so much that he’d rather downplay how he feels than risk losing his friendship due to feelings he thinks you don’t return. He has walls up. Almost everyone he’s cared about has betrayed him in some sense, he doesn’t want to ruin things with the person who’s always been by his side through thick and thin.” The man stayed silent for a long moment and Arthur was scared he said too much or the wrong thing. He opened his mouth to offer an apology but the man spoke before he could.

“What if I have betrayed him before? What if I have broken his trust?” The man’s voice was barely a whisper, his golden eyes looking deep in Arthur’s.

“If he brought you with him to this ball tonight, if he still considers you his closest friend, he’s already forgiven you ages ago,” Arthur offered with a smile. The man eventually mirrored Arthur’s smile.

“You know, if you can’t tell the man you’re in love with how you truly feel, tell me. Just let it out. I know we haven’t known each other for long and it won’t be the same as telling him but it could help to let it out to someone other than yourself,” the man offered. Arthur gave it a quick thought. Yes it was true it wouldn’t be like telling Merlin but it’d be nice to tell someone how he felt about the court sorcerer without fear of judgment. It wouldn’t be like he was telling Gwen or one of the knights where he’d see them the next day. It would just be telling a stranger who didn’t know who he was and would never see him again. If there was judgement, it wouldn’t matter. Though Arthur couldn’t find himself believing the man standing next to him would judge him for his feelings.

“Ok, sure, but only if you do the same,” Arthur replied. The man’s eyes widened for a second at that second part but nodded his head and agreed.

“Ok where to begin? Well…” Arthur took a deep breath as he closed his eyes and gathered his thoughts, filling his mind with Merlin. Arthur opened his eyes once he found the words he wanted to say, letting them spill out of his mouth without giving second thoughts to filtering it.

“He calls me a prat but he’s a bigger one himself. He doesn’t know how to chew with his mouth closed when anyone of importance is around us but is the most polite eater around when it’s just the two of us. It’s like he does it on purpose to annoy me! Or even worse to ruin our reputations! And there was a time for a while that he always acted like he was so clumsy and weak but guess what? I found out he was stronger than basically everyone we knew! I was always wasting my time worrying about him whenever we got into dangerous situations, which he usually was and still is the one to lead us into them, and how to protect him when really I’m the one who needs protecting from him most of the time. He’s just so infuriating, you know?” Arthur threw his arms up in the air in frustration before letting them drop as he looked over to his left, seeing that the man most likely had a very confused expression on his face.

“I’m confused, do you hate or love him?”

“Of course I don’t hate him,” Arthur said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, “You didn’t let me finish.”

“Oh sorry, sorry! Keep on going,” the man raised his hands up in surrender. Arthur rolled his eyes before going on.

“The day I found out just how strong he was, I was upset. At that point we had known each other for almost five years and I trusted him with everything I had. I believed he was the bravest man I knew and also the stupidest. I thought he was weak. I thought he ran into danger with no way to defend himself. I thought I would have to be the one always protecting him. But then he ahead and told me this secret he had been hiding from me since the day we met. I wasn’t even mad about the secret, I was just so mad that he lied to me for so long. But then I understood why he kept it from me, why he didn’t tell me. I was lucky that he was even telling me at all. It took us a few days but eventually we made up. The two of us are fine now, better than before honestly. I trust him with my life now and I know that feeling is mutual. Sometimes I just get confused though. I wonder why he sticks by my side. He’s amazing, God he’s amazing. He was amazing before I found out about the secret of course, it just added on to it. He could be anywhere else in the world right now but he stays by my side for some unknown reason. But I won’t ever question him about it, no. I’m scared that if I do, he’ll just leave,” Arthur took a deep breath in before slightly changing the subject.

“I take back what I said about wasting my time worrying about him. It’s anything but a waste of time worrying about his well being. I know that he’s the one who protects me most of the time but I want to protect him too. I don’t want to see him get hurt. I want to protect that smile on his face that he makes when he gets flowers from our friend every Thursday. I want to protect the way he curls his fists when he defends someone. I want to protect the way he laughs when he finally wins against me in a round of sparring. I want to protect the way his face flushes all the way up to the tips of his ears when he’s embarrassed. I want to protect the way his eyes shine bright when he’s discovered a new magic trick to show off. But who wouldn’t want to protect someone like him? He helps everyone he can. He sees the good in people when others can’t. He risks his life so much to save his home and loved ones. He’s a better man than I could ever hope to be. I love him so much, there’s no words to describe it. He only knows a slight fraction of how much I care for him and sometimes I wish I could just sit him down and tell him all of these words and more.” Arthur thought about saying much more but decided that he had said enough and they’d be out there all night if he said truly every sentence to describe how he felt towards his friend.

“I- uh- wow,” the man to Arthur’s left struggled to let out. “That was… a lot. But it was pretty sweet. Like I said earlier tonight, he’s lucky to have you.” The slow smile making its way onto the man’s face immediately dropped when Arthur said his next words.

“Your turn.”

“Ah shoot. Ok, well I can’t say it’ll be any grand confession like yours but I guess I have to keep my word.” Now it was the man’s turn to take a moment to collect his thoughts and open his heart up to a stranger.

“He’s uh, he’s a lot. He gets angry pretty easily but never for long. Though he’s gotten less angry these days and usually just turns to stalking off. But he’s also easy to make happy most of the time, though like his anger it goes away fast. But there’s times where the happiness stays for a long while. Like one time I took him into the woods near where we live and showed him this really dumb magic trick that made one of the trees dance. I doubt he remembers it but I remember it as if it were yesterday. He had this smile on his face, not like the one he gives to the snotty nobles from other kingdoms we have to make peace negotiations with. Nope this was a genuine one. It was a pretty stressful day for him too, and it was just so nice to see him so carefree even if it was only for a little bit of time. Our jobs are pretty stressful in general, his a lot more than mine, so we rarely have moments just for the two of us. But I cherish every moment we do get together. He’s a great man that I’m happy to know. I’m lucky we’re as close as we already are. We almost had a falling out a few years ago when he found something out about me but thankfully he forgave me. For that I’ll always be thankful. He acts like he doesn’t care about the people close to him but I can tell that he actually does. He actually cares a lot. Myself included. He’s a good man and grows into a better one than I could ever imagine each day. A lot of bad stuff has happened to him that he doesn't deserve at all but he always pulls through. Always. I think recently he has this idea in his head that I don’t need him anymore since he found out my secret but what he doesn’t know is that I need him just as much as he needs me. I guess I’m guilty for not always saying my feelings too. If I did, he would already know by now just how much I love him.” 

Arthur couldn't help but think that what the man was talking about sounded very familiar. Almost as if Arthur knew who this guy was talking about. Did he?

“Say, what’s the guy’s name?” Arthur asked, hoping to see if the person this man was talking about was someone Arthur knew and could hopefully help with.

“Oh, well… It's kind of embarrassing because if you know him or even have just heard of him you’ll see how low my chances really are, it’s laughable,” the man said as he looked down at the ground as he let out a sad laugh.

“I’m sure it isn’t. Based on how beautiful that confession was he’d be lucky to have you. It’d be laughable if he didn’t feel the same way,” Arthur truthfully said. The man’s confession was truly beautiful and honest. Arthur could feel every emotion and then some that the man had spoken.

“No, you don’t understand. My chances are so low. Ugh. You’re not going to get it unless I say who. Fine, but you have to say the name of who you were talking about too,” the man frustratedly said as he ran a hand through his hair. Arthur gave a nod and “ok” in response.

“Ok, here I go. His name is Arthur.” No. That couldn’t be right. He couldn’t mean ‘Arthur’ Arthur. Because based on the man’s description of himself and Arthur, that’d make the man-

“King Arthur? The king of Camelot?” Arthur asked suddenly breathless, not knowing if he hoped the answer would be yes or not. The man looked back up into Arthur’s eyes and nodded.

“Yeah, King Arthur.” Arthur felt his heart drop.

\----  
“Merlin?” The man to Merlin’s right asked, panic seeping out of his voice. Oh no. Did the man know him? But how could he tell that he was talking to Merlin based on that description? Unless they knew him!

“How do you know my name? Do you know me?” Merlin asked, suddenly the one with panic in his voice. Oh god, he thought he was letting all his feelings out about Arthur to a stranger, not someone he knew back from Camelot.

“Oh no, I can’t believe I just- oh no,” the man started to pace around, his voice slowly getting louder causing Merlin to worry that the two oddly familiar women on the balcony to their right would hear them.

“Who are you?” Merlin decided on asking as his vision went from the man to the two women and back to the man, making sure they weren’t overhearing him and the man in question. But the pair to the right seemed like they were in an intense conversation themselves. Though Merlin couldn’t help but think the two of them looked very familiar. Oh wait. Merlin recognized that red mask. It was Gwen’s. But who was Gwen on the balcony with? And why did she look so familiar?

“Merlin, you have to understand what I said- I didn’t know- Ugh. I remember the dancing tree spell, too. And it was actually three trees, not one,” the man struggled before finally deciding on saying that last sentence, which made Merlin’s blood run cold because the only person who could know what happened in the forest when he performed that spell was-

“Arthur?” Merlin asked, even more panicked. The man - no, Arthur - nodded as he took off his mask, his face glowing in the moonlight.

“We just confessed. To each other. About each other,” Merlin stated the obvious, trying to hang on to the last threads of his sanity as he also took his mask off. He was going to soak the mask up with his nervous sweat if he wore it any longer. Arthur nodded again, clearly not knowing what to say. At least the king had stopped pacing and elected for standing still and staying silent instead. Looking back on it, it was quite obvious that Arthur was the man behind the mask. From his gestures to the way Merlin felt around him to the way he described his relationship with Merlin, it was right there for Merlin to connect the dots and figure out.

“Ok well Arthur, we have to talk about this,” Merlin said as he looked back to the balcony with Gwen and the mysterious woman. Oh, it looked like she was taking her mask off.

“Merlin, you don’t think I don’t know that? I’m just trying to process this right now,” Arthur frustratedly said.

“Ok I get that. Me too but-” and Merlin would’ve continued that sentence if it weren’t for the fact he saw who the woman was under the mask. Morgana. It would’ve been quite comical how all four of their pairs of eyes widened, one after another like a domino effect, if it weren’t for the sudden dire situation. It had first started with Merlin losing his grip on the mask he was holding and his eyes widening, focused on the sorceress. Then Gwen’s eyes landed on him and Arthur, causing them to widen. So of course Morgana had to notice Gwen’s expression and turn her head slightly to see him and Arthur. And if that wasn’t enough, noticing Merlin’s expression, he turned his head around and looked dead at his half sister before she started to sprint away. Merlin was a fool. He was actually a fool, he thought to himself as he started to make a mad dash back into the ballroom, catching sight of the back of Morgana’s running form. He was truly stupid for pushing his worries aside about Morgana for the night. Of course she’d be here, she probably heard about Arthur being here and was taking her chance on killing him. A masquerade ball would be the perfect time to strike. A place where you could be hidden under a mask with no suspicions.

“Ow!” A man yelped in pain as Merlin shoved him out of his path. As guilty as Merlin felt for that, he had no time to apologize, Morgana was already starting to pull away and the chase was starting to cause a commotion. Cursing his weak stamina as his legs started to hurt, Merlin grit his teeth and continued running towards Morgana who seemed to be running towards another one of the balconies. Just as much as he hated how unathletic he was, he was very much thankful for just how athletic Arthur was when he heard the king’s heavy breaths beside him and saw that he had caught up to Merlin. Soon the three of them were back in the nighttime chill, standing on a balcony on the opposite side of the ballroom. The sorceress turned around once she reached the railing, fear evident in her eyes.

“You’re cornered, Morgana,” he heard Arthur say from beside him as the two of them walked up towards Morgana.

“You don’t have to do this you know. You could just let me go and no one gets hurt,” Morgana said, her gaze constantly shifting between Arthur and Merlin.

“You know it’s too late for that, Morgana,” Merlin said as Arthur made a grab for the woman. The only thing Merlin thought before he saw Morgana’s eyes light up gold and heard her mutter a spell, was how all of this felt too easy.

“Arthur!” Merlin exclaimed, grabbing the back of Arthur’s shirt before dropping to the floor and dragging him with him. Seconds later sparks flew just where Arthur had been standing and Morgana hopped over the railing, summoning a spell to soften her fall. Merlin was immediately back on his feet and ready to chase after Morgana in a second. He was already over the railing and in the air when he heard Arthur exclaim, “Merlin, wait!”

Landing on the ground which felt like pillows due to his spell, Merlin continued to run after Morgana who was on her way to the nearby woods, ignoring the sick feeling in his stomach for not waiting for Arthur. He’d apologize to Arthur later. He’d apologize to Arthur for all of this later.

\----  
Merlin felt like the very definition of death as he walked through the castle’s hallways on his way to his guest chambers. He’d spent what felt like hours chasing after Morgana when eventually he lost her and all he wanted was to change into his sleepwear and hop right into his bed. That was exactly what he was planning on doing until he opened the door and saw Arthur still in his formal wear, standing on the other side of the room and looking out the window.

“Arthur?” Merlin spoke his name a little above a whisper as he walked into the room and let the door close behind him. By then the voice masking spell had worn off for him and Arthur. The king immediately whipped around and rushed towards Merlin.

“Where the hell have you been?” Arthur asked as he grabbed Merlin’s shoulders and looked dead into his no longer golden eyes, his blue eyes clouded by pure concern. Merlin noticed that Arthur had no sign of anger in his voice and just sounded tired at that point.

“I’m sorry, I was chasing Morgana but then I lost her and…” Merlin began but then let his voice trail off as he looked towards the ground.

“You knew she was here, didn’t you? That’s why you were acting weird earlier.” Of course Arthur could read him like a book in that moment.

“Yeah, but I didn’t want to worry you. You were so excited for this ball and I didn’t want to ruin it for you. I thought Morgana wasn’t going to be an issue,” Merlin admitted. Arthur released his soft grasp on Merlin’s shoulders as he let out a frustrated sigh before going to pace around the room.

“Merlin I appreciate you wanting to keep me happy tonight, I really do but you’ve gotta stop keeping me in the dark like this. I thought we agreed to stop leaving each other in the dark ever since you told me about the magic. What if something had happened to you?” Merlin immediately regretted his choice of looking up at the moment when he saw the tears building up in Arthur’s eyes. “You have to tell me stuff, Merlin, so we don’t have situations like tonight. Like All of tonight.”

“Arthur you didn’t tell me either,” Merlin said referring to the confession and all the emotions the two of them had kept hidden. Arthur tensed up and stopped pacing around but then he nodded. Merlin could only assume that if it weren’t so late at night and the two of them weren’t so dead tired, there’d be a lot more arguing and disagreeing right then.

“You’re right. Of course you are.” Arthur sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that night as he walked back up to Merlin. “Can we just stop leaving the other in the dark now?”

Merlin nodded. “Yeah, ok. Let’s stop hiding all this stuff from each other for real now.” Arthur smiled in response for the first time since Merlin walked through that door before wrapping his arms around the sorcerer and pulling him into a warm embrace.

“So, we never got to finish our conversation on the balcony,” Merlin said a few minutes later after they had climbed into the bed and laid down, both in a set of Merlin’s sleepwear.

“You’re right,” Arthur responded before turning his head to look at Merlin. “For all it’s worth, I meant everything I said before. Every single word.” Then there was an intense look of admiration in Arthur’s eyes, far greater than Merlin had ever seen in his eyes. Or far greater than Arthur had ever allowed his eyes to show Merlin.

“Everything?”

“Yes, Merlin. Everything.” And then Arthur was putting his hand on Merlin’s cheek and letting his eyes fall to Merlin’s lips before looking up again, a question in his eyes. “And you? Did you mean everything you said?” Was that even a question? Of course, he meant everything he said up there.

“Every single word,” Merlin softly said before they were both leaning in. It took Merlin’s brain a minute to register the fact when Arthur’s lips were on his. When Arthur’s lips were kissing him. When Merlin was kissing back. It should probably scare him, he thought to himself after they separated and Merlin was just looking into those stormy eyes, how much he adored the man in front of him. How it would take a lifetime just to find a small fraction of the words to describe how much love he felt towards him and it still wouldn’t be enough.

“You know, I was really annoyed when the king and queen tried to convince me to marry their daughter before. But now I’m glad. It meant I could get not one but two dances from you,” Arthur suddenly said with a wink as he put his head back on his pillow.

“Convince you to marry their daughter?” Merlin asked in confusion before it hit him. “Wait. That’s why you dragged me over to you guys and went on about your heart being taken by me? So you wouldn’t have to just say you didn’t want to marry the princess?” Merlin was so close to bursting out in laughter. Arthur gave a deadly serious nod which was the breaking point for Merlin. Arthur tried his best at looking offended before his face was breaking out into a grin and eventual laughter.

“All of this,” Merlin struggled to speak in between gasps of air, “All of this happened because you were too scared to say no to a princess.”

“Shut up, Merlin, I’d like to see you try to react better in that situation,” Arthur attempted to frown, the corners of his mouth threatening to twitch up. Merlin thought about teasing Arthur more but decided against it as he felt his eyes start to close from exhaustion once his laughter started to calm down. There’d be plenty of time to get on Arthur’s nerves more in the morning. As Merlin drifted off, he could’ve swore that he felt a pair of lips on his forehead and a quiet “goodnight”. Then Merlin was dreaming of dances, masks, and kissing a lovely king.


End file.
